Ranma 1. Chapter 1

The Test (Part 1)

It was a nice day in Furinkan, a fresh breeze blowed people's hair out of their faces, as Akane Tendo returned home from school.

"Kasumi! Dad! Nabiki! Mr. Satome! I'm home! Hellooo?"

Then Ranma Satome followed after her and entered the Tendo Dojo.

"You could've waited for me, you know!", he grunted at Akane.

"Oh, sure, Darling, should I make you a sandwich to release the stress you are in from all your hard work at school?", Akane teased.

"You can't tell my Dad about this, you hear me?"

"Oh, don't worry, I couldn't care less about your grades!"

"Oh…cause…I was gonna…well, ask you to help me. You know…with studying?"

Akane looked at him and blushed. She turned away. "Sure…studying…"

"Great. Guess you can learn something from tomboys."

"I'm not helping you like this, you know."

"Okay, okay, sorry. Where is everyone?"

"I don't know…"

Right at that moment, Nabiki Tendo came in. "Er, guys…you should come in. A letter just came in…it's about you two."

Ranma and Akane looked at each other and followed Nabiki into the kitchen. Soun Tendo was sitting on the floor, staring open-mouthed into space. Genma Satome was looking at the piece of paper in his hand, frowning. Kasumi was looking in the usual sweetly surprised Kasumi way, had her hand over her mouth and kept saying: "Oh my, oh my, oh my."

"What's going on here?", Akane and Ranma both said. They looked at each other, blushed and looked away again.

Nabiki took the word: "That letter is about your engagement. There's a guy coming here the day after tomorrow. He's…he's sort of…_testing_ your engagement. You know. If you're really engaged because you want to, or because you have to."

"Well, that's great, isn't it? We can finally separate."

Akane looked at Ranma. Did he really think of it that simple? Just to throw it all away and all is well?

Finally Soun moved. Quickly, actually. He jumped up, grabbed Ranma by both shoulders and started shaking him back and forth. "Are you mad, boy? Have you lost your senses? I am not breaking up this engagement for my life! You are both going to get a grip and ACT like fiancés for once!"

"But…this guy…he's going to ask me questions about Ranma, isn't he? Most likely?", Akane threw in. "And I don't know anything about him."

"Then you'll find out things about him!", Soun ordered.

"Same goes for you, Ranma!", Genma said.

"What? No! Can't you ask me to…to adopt all cats in the world or provide peace on earth? Anything, please!"

"You sound like a girl, Ranma! A true man can conquer anything! Or do you deny you have interest in your fiancé?"

"What kind of…no! I don't have _interest_ in her! I know what you're playing at!"

"Well, I don't either, you jerk, so don't go getting any ideas!"

"Please, children, I will hear no more of this! You will both behave and play a happy couple while that testing man is here, otherwise we might not have two proper heirs to this Dojo after all!"

Ranma and Akane closed their mouths.

"I…I was gonna help Ranma with his studies tonight anyway. So maybe…we could…_try_.", Akane started.

"Err…yeah. Sure. We could…_try_.", Ranma agreed.

"Good.", Genma and Soun smiled.

"Fine, now that that is settled, I'll go make dinner.", Kasumi said, back to herself.

"Cool, I'll go to my room."

"Yeah, and…me and Ranma will go…studying…I guess.", Akane said, still stunned.

Ranma followed her upstairs.

"You know, your skirt is too short. I can see your underwear from down here. Wow, I didn't know they even still made those!", Ranma laughed.

"You pervert, let's just get this over with, alright?", Akane snapped.

The bedroom door closed and the Tendo Dojo went back to normal. At least for now.


	2. Chapter 2

The Test (Part 2)

"Could you just concentrate, please? Now what is X and…Ranma!"

"What? This is boring! And your eyes are really capturing…"

Akane looked at him and could feel herself getting hot. "You…you really…"

"God, just KIDDING! When did you get THAT stupid?"

Akane just pushed his chair over.

"Ouch!" Ranma got back up. "Naa, but seriously…you do have really nice hazel eyes…could be cute. If it weren't for stuff like that." He pointed to the fallen chair on the floor.

Akane couldn't help but smile. But she did it on the inside, just for herself.

For the rest of the evening, they did Math.

When Ranma went to bed, he was absolutely exhausted and fell over onto bed immediately.

Akane lay awake for hours, but couldn't seem to fall asleep. She finally got up and walked to the bathroom. She stood in front of the mirror for minutes and minutes and then understood why. She wanted to see if Ranma was right. About her eyes. She took Nabiki's mascara, a deep breath and started. No, her big yellow pyjama was too distracting. She took off the top and looked into the mirror again. Maybe just a hint of eye shadow…

Ranma woke up and found he desperately needed a drop of water. He jumped up and trotted over to the bathroom.

Akane nearly had a heart attack when the door suddenly opened. And nearly had another one when she saw who it was.

Wow. Was that really Akane? When did she learn how make-up works? And why was she doing it in the middle of the night? Was she meeting someone? A boy? A BOY?

"GET OUT, RANMA!"

Ranma came back to life and stormed out. Oh no! Had he actually stared?

Oh God, this was TOO embarrassing! Ranma had caught her with just a bra and make-up on, in the middle of the night! But…had he…stared? That pervert!

"Hey, did you have a date yesterday, or what?"

Akane remained silent and eating.

"She's not talking to you.", Nabiki said.

"I noticed." Ranma stuck out his tongue at Akane.

She replied the grimace.

Soun and Genma entered.

"Okay, the man arrives tomorrow, when you two are back from school, which means we only have today to practice.", Soun declared.

"We meet here after you two return.", Genma added.

"Sure, whatever.", Ranma said.

Akane said nothing.

"Great, then that's settled.", Genma and Soun smiled.

Akane did not speak one word with Ranma in school, even though he kept coming. Kuno had a few escapades, but nothing too serious, Ranma didn't seem in the mood for a fight.

"I just wanna know, it's not like I care, I just wanna know.", Ranma tried to explain to his mates.

"Yeah, sure, we understand. But…even IF she was seeing a guy…so what, right? You just have to PRETEND to be in love and if she doesn't mention this other guy, everything's all right, right?"

"Yeah…of course. IF she doesn't mention it, but she's so stupid, I think she's capable of anything."

"You're the one she helped studying yesterday."

"Huh."

"Really? He said that? It's true, but hearing that from Ranma is kind of a miracle."

"I know, I know, but I'm sure he was just teasing. He didn't mean it.", Akane protested. '_He never does...'_, she thought to herself. _'Now that I think about it, everything he ever said could have been kind of test. A test to see if I fall for it.' _She turned angry at the thought.

"Yeah, but…"

"No buts. He's a jerk and that's all he'll ever do. Tease. Make fun. He never MEANS anything. And he never will. He won't have a problem with that stupid test. He'll just think of it as a great big fun game! But I won't. I can't. I could never. And that's why…THAT'S WHY I WILL NOT PRACTICE ANYTHING! I KNOW ALL THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT RANMA! THAT HE'S A GREAT BIG JERK AND NOTHING ELSE! THAT'S ALL I'LL TELL THAT STUPID TEST MAN! THE TRUTH!"


	3. Chapter 3

The Test (Part 3)

"Where is that girl? She's late? Didn't you come home with her, Ranma?"

"No. She didn't talk to me during school. Not one word."

"But…the test…"

"Look, I don't care. I came and that's all. Bye." Ranma turned to leave, but Genma grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Find her. Find her now. Go and find her, for the Dojo's sake!"

"Man, God, alright!", Ranma groaned. He got up and went out.

'_God, why did she have to run off? Now I can go looking for her, great!'_, Ranma thought while stomping out the entrance. _'She could at least TRY. Like she said. She could really TRY to work this out…wait, what am I thinking? Make what work? Our engagement? No way.'_

'_Why am I here? I could just go home, but…tomorrow's the day. We could stop all of it. By just saying we're not a real couple. We'd break up and…Ranma would move away. He'd be gone, vanished out of my life and it all just never happened. I'd marry another guy and take over the Dojo. But…I…" _Akane burst into tears and didn't know why. She continued crying and crying and didn't even WANT to know why. She just sat there, crying and crying. Part of her wanted someone to come and save her from the tears. Another one wanted to be left alone and never ever go back home.

"Father! Father, Akane is back, she's fine, there is no need to worry!", Kasumi cried through the house.

Soon Soun came stumbling in, an absolute wreck.

"Akane! Akane, you're safe. We thought you were being kidnapped, killed, stomped on by chickens!", he wept.

"Yeah, YOU thought that Dad.", Nabiki said. "He was at the point where his imagination runs wild. And so does he. But seriously, where were you? We were all really worried, Ranma's out looking for you."

"He is?"

"Yes. So that means no lessons. No right answers, no engagement, no Tendo and Satome heirs.", Genma said, dramatically posing.

"Akane, I am very disappointed. I thought Ranma would be the one who doesn't show up.", Soun said to his daughter and suddenly looked more serious.  
>"I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't hear you this morning and I...I was at a friend's, so..."<p>

Soun didn't answer. He just nodded and went off to his room. So did Genma, but he sighed before leaving the room. Kasumi warmed Akane up some of the dinner she had missed and Nabiki had a phone call and left shortly after to meet some friends.

Ranma came much later in the night. The house was silent. He sneaked into the kitchen and there she was. All well. At the kitchen table. Akane.

She turned when she heard him come in and he could see she had been crying. Why had she been crying? He pretended not to see it and said: "Hey, what the hell? I've been looking everywhere for you. I was really worried, you know. Not at first, because you can always take care of yourself, but after a time, when you were nowhere to be found...I..."

She was grateful he wasn't saying anything about her red, swollen eyes.

"I know, sorry about that."

"Oh. So you're talking to me again.", Ranma said.

"Yes. Yes, I am. Because you...because you looked for me so much. Thanks."

Just then, Ranma's stomach growled.

"Should I warm you up some of the dinner you missed? It's the least I can do after you missed it because of me. I know I'm not great at cooking, but I'm bound to be able to use a microwave."

"Sure, thanks."

And then they both sat there together, as Akane watched Ranma eat. She smiled slightly.

"Akane, can I ask you something? I know you heard your father this morning, otherwise you would have asked what he said. So why...why didn't you show up? Do you...do you wanna...do you still wanna get rid of me? Do you...hate me?"

To Ranma's surprise, Akane all of a sudden started crying again.

"Oh no, don't...don't...cry...please..."

"I don't hate you, Ranma, I don't wanna get rid of you! I don't wanna lose you! I can't say if I wanna get MARRIED to you, but I...Ranma, I want you to stay here forever and ever."

"Akane, I...I..."

"That's it! Off to bed! Both of you! I will not have you fighting right before the big test! Off!" It was Soun, standing in the kitchen, waving his arms around and shouting. "The least you can do is not fight, now off you go! GO!"


	4. Chapter 4

The Test (Part 4)

Akane and Ranma went t bed and slept very well indeed. Akane got up, combed her soft hair, which she had washed the other day, put on her clean and fresh school uniform, a bit of mascara and went downstairs. She saw Ranma, who seemed to have tried and looked good and healthy as well today. They left the house right on time and arrived at school 5 minutes too early. Ranma got back a B on his test in Math and Akane managed to jump over 8 meters in P.E. class. After school, they both went home and did their homework.

And then he came. The man everyone had been waiting for, for two days. He came in, still smiling, greeting Ranma and Akane ever so nicely. He had big glasses, that were way too big for him, so he kept having to push them back on the nose.

He talked to Akane first.

"So, as you know, I am travelling all around the country to stop marriages were there shouldn't be. I believe people have the right to marry who they love and not who they're supposed to love. That's why I would like you to answer some of my questions. We'll start easy. How old is Ranma?"

"He's 16, nearly 17."

"Oh? And what are you getting him for his birthday?"

"Err...I haven't really considered that yet."

"Aha." He made some notes.

"And...how would you describe Ranma in one word?"

"Macho." The words were out, before Akane could stop them.

"Mhm." More notes.

"And...what are his...not so bright sides?"

"Well, he's very man-like, he never considers anybody else's feelings and he is a real jerk sometimes, when he dates these other girls..."

"Other girls?"

"Oh. Yeah...well, fiancés."

"Fiancés? I thought you were his..."

"Oh, I'm not the only one. There's Shampoo, there's Ukyo...and I guess there's Kodachi, but she is just CRAZY and they're not really engaged, she's just making that up."

"Oh. Right." Very long notes. This wasn't going well. "So tell me...what DO you like about him?"

"About Ranma? Well, he's...he's straight. He's honest, he's himself. And even if it hurts my feelings sometimes, I can always count on him to cheer me up again. He's always there for me. And he's so ambitious. He knows what he wants. And he takes Martial Arts so seriously, I love that, his serious face, when he's concentrating. He works so hard. For me too. Yesterday, I was gone for a little longer and he went looking for me everywhere until late into the night."

The man smiled. "Go on."

"And even though he always wants to protect me, he finds soft sides too. Like being scared of cats. That always makes me laugh so hard! But I think the thing I love most is when we have ice-cream together. We can sit and talk and it feels like it never has to end, we're in no hurry. We could just sit there together forever."

"What's his favourite ice-cream?", the guy asks.

"It's that Strawberry Chocolate Banana Ice-Cream cup with cherries. He orders it every time." Akane smiled. "I think, sitting and watching Ranma eat is the best thing in the world. Even if it's the food one of his fiancés, Ukyo makes. I just hope, that one day, it will be my food he's eating. And I can just watch him. Every day, sit there and watch his happy, satisfied face. I love that face. I love…" Akane stopped. _'Come on, Akane, just give the performance. Just pretend.' _Then she continued: "I love him."

Akane stepped out and winked at Ranma when he passed her. Guess that meant the questions were easy.

Ranma sat down and the man smiled at him.

"Hello. I heard your quite the catch. Three fiancés, ey?"

"Yeah, I know, but only one of them is real. The other two I got mixed up in and am trying to get out of.", Ranma replied. It wasn't ALL a lie, he didn't want the engagement with Ukyo and Shampoo, but then again, did he REALLY want the engagement with Akane?

"That's a relief then, isn't it?", the man smiled along. "So, let's start. How old is your fiancé?"

"16. She turns 17 on the 9th of June."

"Okay." Some notes. "And how long have you two been together?"

"Two years ago, y Dad told me...that he wanted to visit an old friend of his. Then I came here and met Akane and…well, it wasn't really love at first sight, but…it was still love." Ranma smiled.

"How nice." The test man smiled back, ever so sweetly. "And how would you describe Akane in one word?"

"Err…tomboy, I guess."

"Right." Notes. Oops. And what are her bad traits?"

"She's naïve, she's stubborn, she's got a really terrible temper and she is the worst cook in the world.", Ranma blurted out. Hm. Maybe he should have mentioned a little less, judging by the many notes.

"What colour are her eyes?", the man suddenly demanded.

'_What? Why would he ask that?'_

"She's got those amazing hazel eyes, like golden glass in the sun."

The man slightly frowned and made notes again.

Ranma started getting nervous.

"Last question, Ranma: Why are you engaged to Akane?"

"Well, she's…cute?"

"Aha." A LOT of notes.

"And…", Ranma quickly said. "And she's so cute when she's clumsy. When she tumbles over and I catch her…the look on her face is so adorable. Or when she blushes. It makes me wanna always be there to catch her when she falls." _'God, how cheesy. But he's buying it. No notes.'_ "And she's so good at explaining. The other night, we studied together and I actually understood everything by the end of the night. Sure she's shy and very hard to handle…but she's also my fiancé. So I'll put up with everything. Even the negative things. Because I want all of it. I want her. I need her. I…love her."


	5. Chapter 5

The Test (Part 5)

"We are SO not going to pass. Things just slipped out of me. Like you being a tomboy, or clumsy and…" Akane got up. _'Why did you do that, Ranma? I said I loved you. I said I loved you and you said I'm a tomboy. Why did you DO that?' _"Oh right, like I care, I said you're a macho and a two-timer! I even said you were afraid of CATS!"

"No! How dare you?"

"How dare YOU? How dare you talk about me that way while I put so much effort in! I even said I loved…"

"Loved what?" Ranma looked so serious suddenly, that Akane was worried.

"I said I loved…your muscles."

"Ha! My show was way better! I said I loved your smile!"

"Well, I said I like to watch you eat!"

"I said your eyes were like golden glass in the sun!"

"I said I could always count on you to be there for me!"

"I said I loved you!"

"I love you too!" _'Wait, what? No. "I said I loved you too." Would have been correct, right? Oh no, oh my God, he's going to laugh, oh God, oh God, this is so embarrassing…'_

"No, I mean…I…" Then he kissed her. Ranma kissed Akane. He put one hand behind her head and the other one pulled her to him at the waist. And she kissed back. She wrapped both arms around his neck and kissed back.

And it was that simple. For two years, it had always been that simple.

"YOU PASSED! GUYS, YOU PASSED! HOW DID YOU DO IT?", Nabiki yelled through the house.

Ranma smiled and kissed Akane's forehead before going out the window in the Akane's room. They were keeping it a secret for now. Like they always had. Ever since the day they had first met.


End file.

Ranma, Humor, Romance